Egdon Announces Government Reintroduction of the Moratorium on Shale Gas Extraction

The directors of Egdon Resources plc, a UK focused energy company, note yesterday's Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) from the Rt Hon Grant Schapps MP, Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in which he reintroduced the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for shale-gas.

Commenting, Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon Resources plc, said:
"This is a highly disappointing and illogical move by the Government, just a few weeks after lifting the moratorium and at a time of an ongoing energy supply and cost crisis. The decision prevents the immediate development of a safe and secure indigenous source of gas and if maintained, locks the UK into long term reliance on more carbon intensive LNG imported from Qatar, the shale-gas fields of the USA and elsewhere.

We will continue to make the scientific and commercial case that shale-gas should be part of the long-term solution to the UK's energy needs and that this can be done in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner whilst delivering material economic and geopolitical benefits for the UK.

Our shareholders can take some comfort from the fact that throughout this chaotic period of government, Egdon's core conventional oil and gas business has continued to generate strong revenues and cash flow and that the fundamentals of the business remain strong."